School’s second ‘requires improvement’ rating in two years

A secondary school has been graded as ‘requires improvement’ by Ofsted for the second time in the space of two years, but despite this the education watchdog says good progress has been made.

The Cavendish School in Warners End Road, Hemel Hempstead, was given the grading for leadership and management, the quality of teaching and pupils’ achievement, but scored ‘good’ on both sixth form provision and the behaviour and safety of pupils.

Inspectors praised the school, which has 917 pupils on roll, for students’ behaviour in school, progress in GCSE subjects and its ‘well organised’ sixth form.

Areas needing improvement are achievement in Maths and English, disadvantaged pupils’ attendance and some teachers’ low expectations of students.

Headteacher Sarah Lansley, who has been in the role since September, said: “The ‘good’ ratings reflect the hard work of both staff and students.

“We were also pleased that the inspection team recognised the significant progress that has been made to improve the progress of students and the quality of provision.

“This is an exciting time for the school, and I am confident that our development plan will enable us to achieve a ‘good’ judgement for the school overall when Ofsted return in two years’ time.”

Read the full report on the school’s website at www.cavendish.herts.sch.uk